“The rest of us got the word that Red had been traded just as we were boarding a train out of St. Louis for an eastern trip,” he wrote in Schoendienst’s 1998 autobiography. “It was the saddest day of my career. I slammed the door to my train berth shut and didn’t open it for a long time.”[1]

Sportswriter Jack Herman, who was traveling on the train with the Cardinals to their next series in Pittsburgh, wrote, “Reaction of Cardinal players to the trade ranged from uncomfortable silence to downright shock. In the early hours of the train trip to Pittsburgh, most of them had little or nothing to say.” He added, “Musial, Schoendienst’s best friend and long-time roommate and usually available for quotes, maintained the same tight-lipped silence he had all day.”[2]

Even members of the St. Louis media took the news hard.

“Maybe, as we said, the deal will look better next week or the week after for the Cardinals,” wrote Robert L. Burnes, sports editor for the Globe-Democrat. “For the sake of St. Louis fans, we hope it does. But nobody in the deal is going to assume the place in the hearts of Cardinals fans that Red Schoendienst held, and that’s what hurts. We’re gonna miss him, and if that’s the wrong attitude, it’s just too doggone bad.”[3]

On June 14, 1956, Cardinals general manager Frank Lane traded Schoendienst, catcher Bill Sarni, outfielder Jackie Brandt, and pitcher Dick Littlefield to the Giants for shortstop Alvin Dark, outfielder/first baseman Whitey Lockman, catcher Ray Katt, and pitcher Don Liddle.

The day before the deal was announced, the St. Louis Globe-Democrat and St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that the Cardinals were exploring a three-team trade that would send Phillies first baseman/catcher Stan Lopata and the Giants’ Dark to St. Louis for Schoendienst or left fielder Rip Repulski, who was leading the league with a .378 batting average.[4][5]

“I certainly don’t foresee anything lavish and, in fact, there’s only the slight possibility of our trading at all,” Lane said.[6]

If reporters were skeptical of Lane’s claim, that certainly was to be understood. Since replacing Dick Meyer as the Cardinals’ general manager in October, the man known as “Trader” Lane had entirely rebuilt the Redbirds’ roster with a series of deals, including:

• Brooks Lawrence and Sonny Senerchia to the Redlegs for Jackie Collum;
• Pete Whisenant to the Cubs for Hank Sauer;
• Paul LaPalme to the Redlegs for Milt Smith;
• Luis Arroyo to the Pirates for Max Surkont;
• Ben Flowers, Harvey Haddix, and Stu Miller to the Phillies for Murry Dickson and Herm Wehmeier;
• Solly Hemus to the Phillies for Bobby Morgan;
• Joe Frazier and Alex Grammas to the Redlegs for Chuck Harmon;
• Bill Virdon to the Pirates for Bobby Del Greco and Littlefield;
• and a player to be named later (Dick Rand) to the Pirates for Toby Atwell.

However, none of Lane’s previous trades included a player as popular as Schoendienst, a 12-year Cardinals veteran and nine-time All-Star who hit the game-winning homer in the 1950 All-Star Game.

“We let Schoendienst go with great reluctance, naturally, but to get a star like Dark you’ve got to give a star,” Lane said. “I don’t say Al is as great as he was five years ago. No one is, not even Red. (Manager Fred Hutchinson) and I were certain, though, we didn’t have a chance to stay in the pennant race with our defense at first base and shortstop. I believe we’ve helped our pitching a bit by getting Liddle and, frankly, Hutch had been figuring on Smith taking over as No. 1 catcher on the strength of his showing so far. Sure, Brandt could come back to haunt us, but, again, we’re concerned about 1956 and not the future.”[7]

The trade allowed the Cardinals to rearrange their defense. Wally Moon, a career outfielder, could now move from first base to center field with Lockman taking his former position. Additionally, shortstop Don Blasingame returned to his natural position at second base, with the former Giants captain Dark taking over at shortstop.

“Blasingame has been uncertain at shortstop,” Lane said. “In his normal position at second and with the experienced Dark to help him, I think we’ll be better off. Lockman will help us at first base. Moon will be a better player in the outfield. He gave it a great try at first base, but he was the first to admit he was out of his element.”[8]

In another interview, Lane added, “I thought Moon gave first base a courageous battle, but his failure to come up with low throws, even more than his unfamiliarity with other mechanics of the position, had a doubly tough effect on the rest of the infield,” Lane said. “Dropped throws cost outs, but more important, they caused the rest of the infield to press in an effort to make sure throws.”[9]

The trade also meant that rookie catcher Hal Smith would take over the backstop duties for Katt.

“Hutch is high on Smitty, especially his throwing arm, which he says is the best in the league,” Lane said.[10]

In Dark, the Cardinals received a veteran infielder with three All-Star selections and a Rookie of the Year trophy to his credit. The Giants’ longtime captain, Dark also brought significant winning experience to the club, having won the pennant with the Braves in 1948 before leading the Giants to the NL title in 1951 and finally winning the World Series in 1954.

“I think we’ll be stronger with Dark and Blasingame than with Blasingame and Schoendienst,” Hutchinson said. “I’ve been hoping to give Smith more chances to catch, and this is his opportunity.”[11]

While the trade rebuilt the Cardinals’ infield, Lane said the cornerstone to the deal was the lefthander Liddle, a native of Mount Carmel, Illinois. Liddle had won 10 games for the Giants in 1955 and was 1-2 with a 3.92 ERA at the time of the trade.

“They didn’t want to give up any pitching,” Lane said. “For an hour or so this morning, the deal was off. (Giants vice president Chub Feeney) called me and said that (team president) Horace Stoneham didn’t want to give up Liddle. I said if we couldn’t improve our pitching staff, then the deal was off. They called back later and said, “Okay,” and we made it.”[12]

Meanwhile, the Giants insisted on the 22-year-old Brandt, who hit .305 with 12 homers, 70 RBIs, and 24 stolen bases the previous season for Triple-A Rochester.

“We’re very excited about getting Brandt,” Feeney said. “We wouldn’t have made the deal without him. He can run, he can throw, and he can hit. He gives us what we needed most – a good, young, right-handed hitter. Frankly, we were surprised that the Cards would let him go.”[13]

New York manager Bill Rigney liked the deal because he believed the trade would improve the Giants’ glovework.

“I know one thing, it’s going to help us defensively,” he said. “Especially up the middle. We needed a second baseman like Schoendienst.”[14]

The timing of the trade was unfortunate for Schoendienst, who was out of the lineup with a shoulder injury. He and his wife had heard trade rumors the previous year and held off on buying a new home in southwest St. Louis. By the time the 1956 campaign started, however, they believed they were safe to purchase the home.[15]

While Schoendienst was good-natured about the trade in the press, reportedly saying, “That’s the way the ball bounces,” and “New York’s money is as good as St. Louis’s,”[16] he was frustrated that he didn’t learn about the deal until he heard it on the radio.

“One day I picked up (Stan Musial) on the way to the ballpark like I always did, and he was upset,” Schoendienst wrote in his 1998 autobiography. “I asked him what was wrong, and he said, ‘I think I’m going to be traded and I’m not going to go.’ I thought to myself, ‘Well, I imagine I’ll be traded soon.’ The team hadn’t won in a while, and some of us were getting older. I knew they wanted to bring in some younger players, and that would require trading some of the older guys. I never heard any specific rumors, but I still kind of prepared myself for the news.

“What made me mad, however, was how I found out I had been traded to the Giants – I heard it on the radio. I guess Lane’s secretary tried to call after I already had left for the ballpark, but I didn’t appreciate getting the news that way.”[17]

If the trade did improve the Cardinals’ defense, it didn’t show up in their results on the field. Though the Cardinals were 29-24 and half a game out of the National League lead at the time of the trade, they slumped to a 76-78-2 finish for fourth place.

Over the parts of three seasons, Dark played 258 games with the Cardinals, batting .289 with nine homers and 106 RBIs over that span. In May 1958, the Cardinals traded him to the Cubs for Jim Brosnan.

Katt played just 47 games for the Cardinals before he was traded to the Cubs that December as part of another eight-player trade. Lockman’s tenure wasn’t much longer, as he was traded back to the Giants in February 1957.

Liddle, whom Lane had considered key to the deal, went 1-2 with an 8.39 ERA in 24 2/3 innings in St. Louis. He spent the entire 1957 season in Triple-A Omaha before retiring.

The players the Giants received had mixed results in the years to come. Brandt missed the 1957 campaign due to military service but went on to win a Gold Glove in 1959 and was an All-Star with the Orioles in 1961. He went on to enjoy an 11-year major-league career.

Littlefield went 4-4 for the Giants during the remainder of the 1956 season before they traded him to the Dodgers for Jackie Robinson. When Robinson refused to report to his new team, the trade was voided, and Littlefield was subsequently traded to the Cubs.

Sarni played 78 games for the Giants in 1956. The following spring, at age 29, he suffered a heart attack that ended his playing career.

Schoendienst hit .296 with the Giants for the remainder of the 1956 season. The following June, the Giants traded him to the Braves for Ray Crone, Danny O’Connell, and Bobby Thomson. In Milwaukee, Schoendienst won the second World Series of his career and finished the season with a league-high 200 hits. He placed third in that season’s NL MVP vote behind Henry Aaron and Musial.

In 1958, Schoendienst was diagnosed with tuberculosis. The life-threatening condition required surgery and four months of bed rest, costing him the entire 1959 season. He played a reserve role for the Braves in 1960 before requesting his release and returning to the Cardinals in 1961. He played the final three years of his career in St. Louis before hanging up his cleats to begin his coaching career.

Schoendienst managed the Cardinals from 1965 through 1976, guiding the team to the World Series championship in 1967 and the NL pennant in 1968. After two years as a coach for the Athletics, Schoendienst returned to St. Louis once again, this time as a coach and special assistant to the general manager. He remained with the Cardinals organization until his passing in 2018.

He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989.

Give the gift of Cardinals history! The Trades That Made The St. Louis Cardinals is available now on Amazon.

[1] Red Schoendienst with Rob Rains (1998), Red: A Baseball Life, Sports Publishing, Page VII.

[2] Jack Herman, “Uncomfortable Silence Marks Cardinals’ Trip,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, June 15, 1956.

[3] Robert L. Burnes, “The Bench Warmer,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, June 15, 1956.

[4] “Cards Reported Planning 3-Way Deal,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, June 13, 1956.

[5] Bob Broeg, “Lane Tones Down Trade Talks After 3-Way Meeting,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 13, 1956.

[6] Bob Broeg, “Lane Tones Down Trade Talks After 3-Way Meeting,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 13, 1956.

[7] Bob Broeg, “Schoendienst Goes To Giants in 8-Player Trade; Cards Get Lockman, Dark, Katt And Don Liddle,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 14, 1956.

[8] Robert L. Burnes, “Schoendienst Traded to Giants in 8-Player Deal,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, June 15, 1956.

[9] Bob Broeg, “Tighter Defense Cardinals’ Chief Gain in Trade, Lane Thinks,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 15, 1956.

[10] Jack Herman, “‘Team Couldn’t Win’-Lane,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, June 15, 1956.

[11] Robert L. Burnes, “Schoendienst Traded to Giants in 8-Player Deal,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, June 15, 1956.

[12] Robert L. Burnes, “Schoendienst Traded to Giants in 8-Player Deal,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, June 15, 1956.

[13] Milton Richman, “We Get Brandt or No Deal, Giants Told Trader Lane,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 15, 1956.

[14] “Rigney Happy, Says Brandt May Be ‘Sleeper’ in Deal,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 15, 1956.

[15] Robert L. Burnes, “The Bench Warmer,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, June 15, 1956.

[16] Bob Broeg, “Tighter Defense Cardinals’ Chief Gain in Trade, Lane Thinks,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 15, 1956.

[17] Red Schoendienst with Rob Rains (1998), Red: A Baseball Life, Sports Publishing, Page 82.

The post Why Red Schoendienst was traded to the Giants in 1956 first appeared on STLRedbirds.com.

Little did Howsam know that Maris had informed the Yankees that he planned to retire in advance of the 1967 season.

Injuries to his hand and knee had depleted the power that made Maris a household name in 1961, when he slugged 61 home runs and replaced Babe Ruth at the top of the record books.

Despite back-to-back American League MVP awards in 1960 and 1961, Maris feuded with the New York media, which found him grouchy and uncooperative. New York Daily News columnist Dick Young shared a story that Sandy Koufax told with him regarding Maris and his relationship with the Gotham press:

It seems that a newsman did a story on Maris and took some liberties with the quotes. Maris was upset. He went to the newsman and said how come you quoted me that way? The newsman said he would write whatever he pleased, and after Maris got through telling him where he could go, Maris added that that went for all newspapermen.

“That’s where he made his mistake,” says Sandy Koufax. “Roger is a beautiful person, believe me. There is no more honorable man. But instead of blaming the guy who had crossed him, and marking one man lousy, he wiped everybody off his list.”[1]

Maris’s relationship with the media – and Yankees fans – only grew worse as injuries began to take their toll. He missed most of the second half of the 1963 season with an infection. In May 1965, he suffered a broken hand that required surgery. The operation was successful, but it left him without strength in that hand, which in turn sapped his power and bat control.[2]

Then, in 1966, he suffered a collision with Tigers catcher Bill Freehan that injured his knee. Yankees manager Ralph Houk cautioned Maris to run only when he had to, Young reported.

“There’s no sense in trying to run hard when you don’t have to,” Houk said. “You’re apt to hurt yourself work, and then I won’t have you in the lineup at all. I want your bat in there.”

Of course, the Yankees didn’t publicize Houk’s orders, so when Maris failed to race out ground balls, the fans began to boo him.

“I remember a time when they booed Maris for that on his first trip to bat, and later that night he hit the ball into the bleachers to win the game, and they stood up in Yankee Stadium and cheered him all the way around the bases,” Young wrote. “… He didn’t raise his eyes or give the faintest sign of recognition. He went the other way, in fact. He stared straight down at his feet as he trotted around the bases, and he ran into the dugout with his head down through all that cheering. I went to the clubhouse after the game and asked Maris why he didn’t give some sign of acknowledgment to the fans who were cheering him. I can’t tell you what he said, but what he said and what he feels is why the Yankees traded him, straight up, for Charley Smith.”[3]

That July, Maris informed the Yankees that he planned to retire after the season, and Houk asked him to wait until the following spring training to make it official. Maris agreed.[4] When Yankees president Lee MacPhail called in December to confirm that Maris planned to retire, the slugger had a feeling that something was up.

“Just detecting the way he was talking, I thought he had something in mind, and I said, ‘Lee, if you have any intentions of trading me, let me know now and I’ll announce my retirement.’ He said, ‘No, we have no intentions of trading you.’”[5]

In fact, MacPhail was shopping Maris around the league without much luck. After the trade to the Cardinals was completed, MacPhail said only three other teams showed any interest in Maris and listed the reasons why to the New York Daily News.

“One, he has a peculiar attitude, and everybody seems to know it,” MacPhail said. “Two, he is 32 years old. Three, his physical condition has been questionable lately. Four, he has just had two bad seasons. Five, he has been talking about quitting. Six, he makes over $70,000.”[6]

The Cardinals, however, were in desperate need of offensive firepower after they ranked last in the National League in scoring in 1966. When Howsam ran into Houk on the last day of the winter meetings, the beginnings of a trade were born.

“I started to kid Ralph and said, ‘Hey, when are we going to make a trade?’” Howsam recalled. “Houk then said, ‘Would you be interested in Maris?’ I told him that I’d have to think it over. And when I got on the plane headed back to St. Louis, I figured we might be able to use Maris.”[7]

Howsam called manager Red Schoendienst to see if he would be interested in a trade for Maris. Schoendienst replied, “Who wouldn’t?”[8]

In exchange for Maris, the Cardinals sent Smith to New York. The 28-year-old third baseman had hit .266 with 10 homers and 43 RBIs in his lone season with the Cardinals. Smith, who replaced Ken Boyer as the Redbirds’ starting third baseman, was now replacing Ken’s brother Clete Boyer, who had been traded from the Yankees to the Braves earlier in the offseason.

“Unless Maris declines to report or fails utterly to come back with the Cardinals, all Bob Howsam will be out is some of Gussie Busch’s money, the difference between Maris’s salary and Smith’s,” wrote St. Louis Post-Dispatch sports editor Bob Broeg. “This might not be a good deal, but it’s certainly not a bad one and it could be great.”[9]

Responding to the concerns regarding Maris’s personality, Broeg noted that “Charley gripes in a southern drawl and acts as if he’s tired even before the season begins.”[10]

Broeg continued: “Smith did become one of the better-fielding third basemen, but the long balls he hit were too far and few between. And he ran the bases as if he were playing girls’ softball, begging the pardon of the more aggressive young women of the diamond. In moving to the Yankees, the 28-year-old Smith will be playing for his sixth big-league club in seven seasons. If that doesn’t suggest something, it should.”[11]

When the Associated Press contacted Smith to ask him his thoughts about the trade, he admitted that he hadn’t heard the news.

“I’ll be darned,” he replied.[12]

Like Smith, Maris found out about the trade through an unofficial source. The Yankees tried to call him, but when they couldn’t reach him, they sent a telegram instead. Maris had been at the grocery store, where for the second time in his career, he learned that he had been traded.

“I wasn’t at all surprised,” he said. “I rather expected it. In fact, I expected to be traded ever since 1962. This is the second time I have heard of my being traded in a grocery store. It was the same thing back in 1959, when the Athletics traded me to the Yankees.”[13]

Given Maris’s previous statements about considering retirement, St. Louis reporters asked him whether he intended to play in St. Louis. The Post-Dispatch reported that if Maris failed to report to the Cardinals, he would go on the voluntary retired list and the trade would be nullified.[14]

“I just don’t know,” Maris said.[15]

Ultimately, the Cardinals offered Maris a $75,000 contract to play in 1967, which he accepted.[16]

“When this (trade) came up the way it did, I had voiced to only a couple of people that I was retiring, and the writers would have made me look bad again,” Maris said. “They’d say, ‘Well, he’s not going to play because he was traded away from the Yankees.’ They would have jumped on me like it was a big news story. So I finally agreed to go ahead and play the year.”[17]

While Maris never proved to be the power hitter the Cardinals hoped, he was a steady professional for Cardinals teams that won the World Series in 1967 and the National League pennant in 1968.

“Contrary to what we’d read about him in the papers, Maris wasn’t chronically miserable,” Bob Gibson wrote in 2015. “… He was just a plainspoken, chain-smoking North Dakotan who was happy to be away from high-rise apartments and the media capital of the universe; and happy to finally be happy.”[18]

After the trade, Schoendienst told the St. Louis media that with Maris playing on a new team, in a new stadium and a new league, they shouldn’t expect him to be the same power hitter he had been in 1961.[19]

“I think he was so happy to be out of New York and that pressure cooker that he would have done anything we asked of him,” Schoendienst wrote in his 1998 autobiography. “The only thing he ever told me that he didn’t want to do was play left field, because he said he really had trouble picking up the ball off the bat from that angle. That was no problem for me, and he played very well.”[20]

With Maris playing right field, Mike Shannon moved to third base.

“I think I deserve a chance to play every day and I think they want me to play every day,” Shannon said. I feel that if I play every day I can hit .300 or better, hit 20 to 30 home runs and drive in 100 runs. I hope I can drive in Maris 50 or 60 times next year.”[21]

Maris hit .261 with nine homers and 55 RBIs in 1967, and enjoyed the experience enough that he returned for 1968. He batted .255 with five homers and 45 RBIs in 1968 before announcing his retirement, having played 225 regular-season games with the Cardinals. During his 12-year major-league career, he played in seven World Series, winning three.

Smith played two seasons with the Yankees, batting .224 with 10 homers and 45 RBIs in 181 games. He played one season with the Cubs before retiring following the 1969 campaign.

Enjoy this post? Sign up below and get Cardinals history delivered directly to your inbox!

[1] Dick Young, “Young Ideas,” New York Daily News, December 11, 1966.

[2] Joe McGuff, “Maris, a Complex Man, Reaches His Baseball Point of Decision,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 11, 1966.

[3] Dick Young, “Young Ideas,” New York Daily News, December 11, 1966.

[4] Peter Golenbock (2011), “The Spirit of St. Louis: A History of the St. Louis Cardinals and Browns,” HarperCollins Ebooks, Page 479.

[5] Peter Golenbock (2011), “The Spirit of St. Louis: A History of the St. Louis Cardinals and Browns,” HarperCollins Ebooks, Page 479.

[6] Dick Young, “Young Ideas,” New York Daily News, December 11, 1966.

[7] Neal Russo, “Maris Could Balance Attack – Howsam,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 9, 1966.

[8] Neal Russo, “Maris Could Balance Attack – Howsam,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 9, 1966.

[9] Bob Broeg, “Sound Maris Could Help Cardinals If He Wants To,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 9, 1966.

[10] Bob Broeg, “Sound Maris Could Help Cardinals If He Wants To,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 9, 1966.

[11] Bob Broeg, “Sound Maris Could Help Cardinals If He Wants To,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 9, 1966.

[12] Associated Press, “News to Him,” New York Daily News, December 9, 1966.

[13] Joe Trimble, “Rog Goes to St. Loo For Smith – Even Up,” New York Daily News, December 9, 1966.

[14] Neal Russo, “Maris Could Balance Attack – Howsam,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 9, 1966.

[15] Joe McGuff, “Maris, a Complex Man, Reaches His Baseball Point of Decision,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 11, 1966.

[16] “Maris Offered $75,000 By Cards,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, January 25, 1967.

[17] Peter Golenbock (2011), “The Spirit of St. Louis: A History of the St. Louis Cardinals and Browns,” HarperCollins Ebooks, Page 479.

[18] Bob Gibson (2015), “Pitch by Pitch: My View of One Unforgettable Game,” Kindle Android version, Page 36.

[19] Red Schoendienst with Rob Rains (1998), “Red: A Baseball Life,” Sports Publishing, Champaign, Ill., 145-146.

[20] Red Schoendienst with Rob Rains (1998), “Red: A Baseball Life,” Sports Publishing, Champaign, Ill., 145-146.

[21] Neal Russo, “Maris Could Balance Attack – Howsam,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 9, 1966.

The post Why the Yankees traded Roger Maris to the Cardinals first appeared on STLRedbirds.com.

Cunningham had been with the Cardinals’ International League affiliate, the Rochester Red Wings, on June 29 when manager Harry Walker informed the 22-year-old that he was being called up to the majors to take the roster spot of Cardinals first baseman Tom Alston. Earlier that year, Alston had made history as the first black player to make the Cardinals’ major-league club.

Rather than leaving immediately for Cincinnati, where the Cardinals were playing the Redlegs, Cunningham played Rochester’s scheduled doubleheader before heading to the majors.

“I was so happy and surprised I hardly could see up there at the plate,” said Cunningham, who went hitless in his seven at-bats.[1]

In preparation for Rochester’s upcoming road trip, Cunningham had sent out his laundry, which meant that he would have to join the Cardinals without his clothes. Even worse, the doubleheader ran long, causing him to miss his train. To make it to Cincinnati, Rochester’s publicity staffer drove him to the Buffalo airport, where he caught a flight and arrived in the Queen City in midafternoon. He signed his Cardinals contract after 7 p.m.[2]

Cunningham’s debut came against Redlegs right-hander Art Fowler, a 31-year-old rookie from South Carolina whose minor-league journey had taken him to the Bristol Twins, Danville Leafs, Jersey City Giants, Minneapolis Millers, Jacksonville Tars, Atlanta Crackers, and Milwaukee Brewers.

In the first inning, center fielder Wally Moon (who homered in his first major-league at-bat earlier in the season) led off the game with a double and scored on an RBI single by Ray Jablonski. Cincinnati answered in the bottom half of the inning when Gus Bell hit a solo home run off Cardinals starter Brooks Lawrence.

The game remained tied until Cunningham broke it open in the fifth. After Moon drew a walk and Red Schoendienst singled, Jablonski hit his second RBI single of the game to give the Cardinals the lead. Cunningham then pulled a three-run homer over the right-field wall to make the score 5-1 and chase Fowler from the ballgame.

Two innings later, after Moon and Schoendienst led off with singles, the Redlegs intentionally walked Jablonski to load the bases and face Cunningham with one out. Cunningham rose to the challenge, punching a two-run single up the middle. Repulski followed with a three-run homer, quickly giving the Cardinals a 10-1 lead.

Repulski hit another home run in the ninth inning to give him four RBIs on the day and make the final score 11-3. The two homers gave Repulski 14 on the season.

Moon finished with three hits and three runs scored, and Schoendienst, Jablonski, Cunningham, and Repulski each scored twice.

Lawrence, making just the second start of his career, worked around nine hits and five walks for the complete-game win. He went on to enjoy a 15-6 rookie campaign for the Cardinals even as he led the league with eight hit batsmen.

Cardinals manager Eddie Stanky was pleased with both rookies, though he cautioned reporters not to read too much into Cunningham’s debut, especially with the Braves expected to start Warren Spahn the following day.

“Don’t go overboard,” Stanky said. “I thought enough of this boy to want him, yes, but I told him that while I’d be happy if he hit .300, I’d be satisfied with .270. Let’s wait at least until he faces a good lefthander – Warren Spahn.”[3]

In the Cardinals’ 9-2 win over the Braves, Cunningham hit two homers – both off of Spahn. His second-inning home run was a solo shot, and in the third inning, he hit a three-run homer to give him nine RBIs in his first two games.

“I’ve seen it before – one man gives a ball club a shot in the arm, that is – and I believe the kid has done it,” Stanky said. “Gerry Staley, who hadn’t been pitching, comes in with a great relief job, and Stan Musial, who hadn’t been hitting, rips the cover off the ball.

“Cunningham is so strong he even squeezes the hell out of your hand when you shake it as he rounds third base on his way home.”

For the season, Cunningham went on to bat .284/.375/.445 with 11 homers and 50 RBIs. Despite his successful rookie campaign, the Cardinals encouraged him to change his batting stance in 1955.[4] The adjustment didn’t work, as he struggled in spring training, then suffered an injury after he was hit in the head by a pitch. Instead of returning Cunningham to first base, the Cardinals moved Musial to first and sent Cunningham back to Rochester, where he spent all of 1955 and most of 1956.

It wasn’t until 1957 that Cunningham returned to the majors and enjoyed the best seasons of his career. That year, he hit .318 with a .439 on-base percentage. In 1958, he hit .312 with a .449 on-base percentage and a career-high 12 homers.

At a time when the majors played two All-Star Games per season, Cunningham made both of his career All-Star appearances in 1959. That year marked the high point of his career as he hit .345 with a .453 on-base percentage to lead all of baseball.

Though Cunningham never again hit over .300, he did hit .280 and .286, respectively, in the final two years of his Cardinals career. After the 1961 season, the Cardinals traded Cunningham to the White Sox for Minnie Minosa. In seven seasons in St. Louis, Cunningham hit .304 with a .413 on-base percentage.

Cunningham “kept us loose,” teammate Bill White said. “He was always there with the positive word and attitude. He did not have as much ability as a lot of guys, but he made up for it by hustling.”[5]

Cunningham played the final five years of his career with the White Sox and Senators. He finished his 12-year major-league career with 980 hits, a .291 career batting average, and a .403 on-base percentage.

After his career ended, Cunningham served as a minor-league coach for the Cardinals before joining the front office and becoming the team’s director of sales. He was also a coach on the Cardinals’ 1982 World Series championship team.

Cunningham passed away in March 2021.

“Joe was a great ambassador for us for many years and a pillar in the community,” team president Bill DeWitt III said in a statement after Cunningham’s passing. “He was also a warm, positive person with a great wit. He will be sorely missed.”[6]

Give the gift of Cardinals history! The Trades That Made The St. Louis Cardinals is available now on Amazon.

[1] “Rookie in Such a Hurry to Join Redbirds He Left Clothes Behind,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 1, 1954.

[2] “Rookie in Such a Hurry to Join Redbirds He Left Clothes Behind,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 1, 1954.

[3] “Haddix’s Injury Not Serious,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 2, 1954.

[4] “Joe Cunningham Vows to Return,” Herald-News, July 5, 1955.

[5] Rick Hummel, “Popular player, coach for Cards dies at 89,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 26, 2021.

[6] Rick Hummel, “Popular player, coach for Cards dies at 89,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 26, 2021.

The post Joe Cunningham drives in five in his debut: June 30, 1954 first appeared on STLRedbirds.com.

The trade was announced after the Giants’ three-game sweep of the Cardinals in the final games played at historic Sportsman’s Park. Cepeda, who missed almost the entire 1965 season with a right knee injury that required surgery that winter, had been an obvious trade candidate. With Cepeda and Willie McCovey, the Giants had two future Hall of Fame first basemen on their roster, and while they had experimented with Cepeda in left field, the team determined that it wasn’t a long-term solution, especially in the wake of Cepeda’s knee surgery.

Cepeda made his major-league debut as a 20-year-old in 1958. In his rookie season, he hit .312 with 25 homers, 96 RBIs, and a league-high 38 doubles, winning the National League Rookie of the Year Award and placing ninth in the MVP vote. From that point forward, Cepeda was a perennial All-Star, averaging 32 homers and 106 RBIs in his first seven major-league seasons.

“Cepeda is a great power hitter,” Cardinals vice president Stan Musial said. “He’s a good hitter to all fields. He swings that bat. You’ve got to be an aggressive hitter to be outstanding, and that’s what he is. I don’t know anybody outside of Mays with the sheer power that Cepeda has.”[1]

The Cardinals, who had traded first baseman Bill White to Philadelphia in 1965, began scouting Cepeda during spring training with an eye toward a potential deal.

“The scouts said that he couldn’t play the outfield too well, but he would be all right at first base,” Cardinals manager Red Schoendienst said. “Of course, if his knee were perfect, the Giants wouldn’t have given him up. They’d just put him in the outfield, with Willie McCovey at first base.”[2]

In April, the San Francisco Examiner reported that the Giants had been in discussion with the Cubs regarding a trade that would send Cepeda to the Cubs for left-handed pitcher Dick Ellsworth.[3]

Cepeda was aware of the trade rumors and even helped fuel them. When the Giants arrived in St. Louis on May 6, he told a St. Louis sportswriter that the Cardinals should trade for him.[4] On the bus to the ballpark, Giants infielder Dick Schofield told Cepeda, “Well, this is the day we wrap you up and leave you here. You’ll be in the parade with the Cardinals when they go to the new ballpark.”

Cepeda nodded. “I told my wife to be ready,” Cepeda said. “And I told my friend to find me a house here.”[5]

The following night, the Cardinals’ team physician, Dr. I.C. Middleman, and trainer Bob Bauman examined Cepeda’s knee and found it to be in good condition.[6] The Cardinals also consulted with the Giants’ medical staff, including the physician who operated on Cepeda’s knee.[7] As if to support their findings, Cepeda hit a grand slam in that night’s 15-2 win over the Cardinals, then added a two-run double in a 10-5 win Saturday.

“Cepeda’s knee is in good condition,” Middleman said. “He’ll still need more rehabilitation. No one is better equipped to do this than Bob Bauman. The knee doesn’t bother Cepeda when he strides and hits, as is evident from his performance the past weekend.”[8]

In his autobiography, Schoendienst recalled a meeting between general manager Bob Howsam, vice president Stan Musial, and himself regarding the potential trade.

“Howsam wasn’t certain he should make the deal, but I told him I thought we had enough pitching that we could afford to give up Sadecki,” Schoendienst wrote. “He was still hemming and hawing, and a day later, we got together again and started talking. Finally, Stan spoke up and said, ‘Either you make the deal, or you don’t. Red would like to make the deal.’ That’s when the trade was made.”[9]

Though he knew the trade was coming, Cepeda still took the news hard. When manager Herman Franks told him immediately after that day’s game, Cepeda said, “Okay, that’s fine,” then hurried into the training room in a bid to hide the tears in his eyes.[10]

When San Francisco equipment manager Eddie Logan offered Cepeda a Giants cap to commemorate his years with the club, Cepeda shouted, “To hell with the Giants.”[11]

“Orlando will be happier with St. Louis,” Franks said. “He can play first base for the Cardinals, and we’ve got a good left-handed pitcher.”[12]

For the Cardinals, Cepeda not only filled a positional need but also provided a much-needed power hitter.

“We needed a big guy to hit the ball,” Schoendienst said. “Cepeda should take some of the pressure off other hitters like Curt Flood, Charley Smith, and Tim McCarver. The pitchers really have been working on Flood and Smith.”[13]

While Cepeda initially was angered by the trade, the 25-year-old Sadecki took the trade in stride.

“I’ve had good luck pitching at Candlestick,” Sadecki said. “I’m looking forward to pitching for the Giants. We’re a contending club – we’re in first place now – and I hope I can do my share.”[14]

Sadecki made his major-league debut with the Cardinals as a 19-year-old in 1960. He had gone 67-64 in just over six seasons with the team, including a 20-win campaign en route to the World Series championship in 1964. In that year’s Fall Classic, Sadecki won Game 1 against the Yankees, pitching six innings before Barney Schultz threw the final three for the save.

“Sadecki’s been a fine pitcher – otherwise, we couldn’t have made the deal,” Howsam said. “Now we have a balanced attack.”[15]

“Red told me right after the ballgame,” Sadecki said after the trade was announced. “This thing’s been rumored for a week, so it wasn’t really a surprise. I’m looking forward to pitching for San Francisco. I’ve never had arm trouble, and I’ve felt good all spring. I hope I can help the Giants.” He then grinned and added, “I hope we can keep going. We just beat the Cardinals three in a row.”

“Get out of our clubhouse, or they’ll be fining us $25 for talking to you,” Bob Gibson said.[16]

In San Francisco, where Cepeda was one of the Giants’ most popular players, the trade evoked controversy. However, sportswriter Harry Jupiter pointed out that if Sadecki could help the Giants win the National League pennant, dealing Cepeda would be well worth it.

“Cepeda’s knee is fine now,” Jupiter wrote. “He’ll be a fine first baseman for St. Louis. But the Cardinals aren’t going to win any pennants for a while. And if Sadecki can help San Francisco win the National League race, then the Giants will be more than satisfied with the deal.[17]

Unfortunately for the Giants, Sadecki went just 3-7 with a 5.40 ERA the remainder of the season, and the Giants finished two games behind the Dodgers in the race for the National League crown. In four seasons in San Francisco, Sadecki went 32-39 with a 3.52 ERA. In December 1969, the Giants traded him to the Mets, where he played six seasons before he and Tommy Moore were traded to St. Louis for Joe Torre in 1974. He made 11 relief appearances for the Cardinals before he was sent to the Royals to complete an earlier deal.

After an 18-year major-league career, Sadecki retired with a 135-131 record and 3.78 career ERA.

In his first season with the Cardinals, Cepeda hit .303 with 17 homers and 58 RBIs in what proved to be just an appetizer. By 1967, Cepeda had become the heart and soul of the team he affectionately referred to as “El Birdos.” As sportswriter George Vecsey described it:

He was more than the trusted cleanup hitter. Orlando was the life of the party.

The Cardinals would club somebody into submission and troop back into their clubhouse. First thing you knew, Orlando’s soul music was blasting from the phonograph and Cepeda was standing on a chair.

Who wins the game?” he would shout.

“El Birdos,” the Cardinals would respond in their pidgin Spanish.

“What’s the magic word?” Cepeda would ask.

“Nuts to Herman Franks,” the Cardinals would respond. Then they would be free to take their shower or open their beer. Orlando was satisfied.[18]

With Gibson leading the pitching staff, Cepeda powered the Cardinals’ offense all the way to the World Series title in 1967. With a .325 batting average, 25 homers, and a league-high 111 RBIs, Cepeda was the unanimous NL MVP selection.

“The Most Valuable Player Award, that’s the best compliment any ballplayer can desire,” Cepeda said.[19]

In 1968, Cepeda hit .248 with 16 homers and 73 RBIs, a far cry from his MVP numbers a year earlier. On March 17, 1969, the Cardinals traded Cepeda to the Braves for Torre. The trade marked the end of the “El Birdos” era of the Cardinals, though Torre did win his own NL MVP trophy in 1971 and represented the Redbirds in four All-Star Games.

In three seasons in St. Louis, Cepeda hit .290 with 58 homers and 242 RBIs. He retired following the 1974 season after 17 years in the majors. An 11-time All-Star, he retired with a .297 batting average, 379 home runs, and 1,365 RBIs and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1999.

Give the gift of Cardinals baseball! The Trades That Made The St. Louis Cardinals is available now on Amazon.

[1] Harry Jupiter, “He Left His Heart Here,” San Francisco Examiner, May 9, 1966.

[2] Neal Russo, “‘We Needed Big Guy’ – Red; Cepeda Will Bat Fourth,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 9, 1966.

[3] Harry Jupiter, “Giant-Cub Trade Talk,” San Francisco Examiner, April 19, 1966.

[4] Harry Jupiter, “He Left His Heart Here,” San Francisco Examiner, May 9, 1966.

[5] Harry Jupiter, “He Left His Heart Here,” San Francisco Examiner, May 9, 1966.

[6] Neal Russo, “‘We Needed Big Guy’ – Red; Cepeda Will Bat Fourth,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 9, 1966.

[7] Neal Russo, “‘We Needed Big Guy’ – Red; Cepeda Will Bat Fourth,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 9, 1966.

[8] Neal Russo, “‘We Needed Big Guy’ – Red; Cepeda Will Bat Fourth,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 9, 1966.

[9] Red Schoendienst with Rob Rains (1998), Red: A Baseball Life, Sports Publishing, Champaign, Ill., Page 142.

[10] Harry Jupiter, “He Left His Heart Here,” San Francisco Examiner, May 9, 1966.

[11] Neal Russo, “‘We Needed Big Guy’ – Red; Cepeda Will Bat Fourth,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 9, 1966.

[12] Harry Jupiter, “He Left His Heart Here,” San Francisco Examiner, May 9, 1966.

[13] Neal Russo, “‘We Needed Big Guy’ – Red; Cepeda Will Bat Fourth,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 9, 1966.

[14] Neal Russo, “‘We Needed Big Guy’ – Red; Cepeda Will Bat Fourth,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 9, 1966.

[15] Neal Russo, “‘We Needed Big Guy’ – Red; Cepeda Will Bat Fourth,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 9, 1966.

[16] Harry Jupiter, “He Left His Heart Here,” San Francisco Examiner, May 9, 1966.

[17] Harry Jupiter, “He Left His Heart Here,” San Francisco Examiner, May 9, 1966.

[18] George Vecsey, “Now Cepeda Has His Vindication,” Newsday, November 8, 1967.

[19] Ed Wilks, “MVP Cepeda Has ‘Big Day,’” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, November 8, 1967.

The post Orlando Cepeda is traded to St. Louis: May 8, 1966 first appeared on STLRedbirds.com.

After receiving his unconditional release from Milwaukee and turning down a guaranteed contract from Los Angeles, Schoendienst accepted an offer from Cardinals general manager Bing Devine to try out for the St. Louis roster.

In accepting the offer, Schoendienst knew the Cardinals wouldn’t offer him the same salary he could have received from the Angels.[1] With Julian Javier stationed at second base, the Cardinals were looking at Schoendienst primarily as a pinch-hitter and utility fielder.

“I feel that Red can be of definite help to us,” Devine said. “If Red doesn’t come with us, there would be more pressure on one of our young prospects as a fill-in for second base.”[2]

After participating in the early weeks of camp, Schoendienst signed a contract on March 7, 1961, that was believed to be worth about $25,000.[3]

“I’m convinced, entirely,” Cardinals manager Solly Hemus said. “My one concern was Red’s health. No man could be ill and work the way he has the last two weeks. Why, he’s the youngest-looking, youngest-acting guy on the squad.”[4]

Schoendienst made his major-league debut 16 years earlier in 1945. With Stan Musial and others serving in World War II, Schoendienst made the move from shortstop to left field and led the league with 26 stolen bases during his rookie campaign. In 1946, Schoendienst took over the Cardinals’ second base job and kept it until 1956, when general manager Frank Lane traded him to the New York Giants.

During Schoendienst’s 11+ seasons in St. Louis, he appeared in nine All-Star Games and hit the game-winning home run in the 1950 showcase. He enjoyed arguably his best season in 1950, when he hit .342 with 15 homers and 79 RBIs to place fourth in the National League MVP race. He finished just two points behind Brooklyn’s Carl Furillo for the batting title.

In 1957, which he split between the Giants and Braves, Schoendienst led the league with 200 hits. He finished the year with a .302 batting average and finished third in the MVP vote behind Henry Aaron and Musial. Schoendienst and the Braves won the World Series that year, then won the National League pennant again in 1958 before falling to the Yankees in that year’s fall classic.

After batting .300 with three doubles and a triple in 20 World Series at-bats in 1958, Schoendienst was diagnosed with tuberculosis. After undergoing surgery, Schoendienst spent four months on bed rest and missed almost the entire 1959 season.

In 1960, Schoendienst slumped early and was benched. After the season, the Braves offered him a coaching job, but he declined it and instead asked for his release.

“He’s extremely grateful to Bing Devine for having taken a chance on him when, he feels, Milwaukee’s voluble Charley Dressen gave all of baseball the impression last year that he was washed up,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch sports editor Bob Broeg wrote. “The Ol’ Redhead is bitter at Dressen, for whom he refused to coach.”[5]

In a separate story, Broeg described the scene at Al Lang Field, the Cardinals’ spring training home, when Schoendienst was announced as the team’s second baseman for that day’s game, noting that “the grandstand gaffers who had sat silent throughout the batting order suddenly cheered as though William McKinley had been elected again.”[6]

“The old folks are saluting one of their own,” quipped Jim Toomey.[7]

Appearing primarily as a pinch hitter, Schoendienst hit .300 in 133 plate appearances in 1961, then batted .301 in 153 plate appearances in 1962.

Though Schoendienst’s days as an All-Star were over, he still had plenty to offer the Cardinals. When Johnny Keane resigned after winning the World Series in 1964, the Cardinals named Schoendienst the new manager, a position he held until 1976. Over that span, he won 1,010 games and lost 925 for a .522 winning percentage. He also served as an interim manager in 1980 and 1990, giving him a career record of 1,041-955.

After two seasons as a coach with the Athletics in 1977 and 1978, Schoendienst again returned to St. Louis, where he won his fifth World Series as a coach for the 1982 Cardinals.

In 1989, Schoendienst was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Enjoy this post? Then you’ll love The Trades That Made The St. Louis Cardinals, available now on Amazon!

[1] Jack Herman, “Schoendienst Turns Down Angels’ Offer,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, January 15, 1961.

[2] “Schoendienst Turns Down Angels’ Offer,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, January 15, 1961.

[3] Bob Broeg, “Schoendienst, Beauchamp Stand Out in Cards’ Squad Game,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 7, 1961.

[4] Bob Broeg, “Schoendienst to Be Signed to Contract,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 6, 1961.

[5] Bob Broeg, “Their Boy, Red,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 8, 1961.

[6] Bob Broeg, “Their Boy, Red,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 8, 1961.

[7] Bob Broeg, “Their Boy, Red,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 8, 1961.

The post Why Red Schoendienst returned to St. Louis in 1961 first appeared on STLRedbirds.com.

On February 28, 1989, Hall of Fame president Ed Stack called Schoendienst to share the good news that the 10-time All-Star had been elected to the Hall of Fame by the veterans committee.

“All I ever wanted was to be on that lineup card every day and become a champion,” Schoendienst said at the induction ceremony that July. “My best memories are being a St. Louis Cardinal … the luckiest break for me was when I became Stan Musial’s roommate. I’m glad once again we can be roommates here in the Hall of Fame.”[1]

Schoendienst, who starred for the Cardinals for 15 years before managing the team for another 12 and remaining with the franchise as a coach, was inducted into the Hall of Fame alongside Johnny Bench, Carl Yastrzemski, former Cardinals and Cubs broadcaster Harry Caray, and writers Bob Hunter and Ray Kelly.

After retiring following the 1963 season, Schoendienst made his debut on the Hall of Fame ballot in 1969. He reached as high as 42.6% in 1980, but was not elected in his 15 years on the ballot.

“A lot of times you go quail hunting, and you can’t find those quail,” Schoendienst said. “You go duck hunting, and they’re not flying. If it doesn’t happen, what can you do? You don’t think it’s going to happen, but I wasn’t going to give up.”[2]

Enos Slaughter, who was elected to the Hall four years earlier in 1985, said, “I think it’s long overdue. Red was out there, every day, to win for the Cardinals. Red would have to rank with any second baseman, bar none, that I played with. He was a switch-hitter, a clutch hitter. He had it all. I don’t know how they could keep him out all those years.”[3]

Schoendienst’s road to the Hall of Fame was as unlikely as it was long. Born and raised in Germantown, Illinois, as a 16-year-old, he was struck in the left eye by a staple while a friend tried to drive it into a dry hedge post at a Civilian Conservation Corps camp.[4]

Schoendienst convinced doctors to save it, but the accident left him with 20/200 vision in that eye.[5]

“I didn’t even know he had a bad eye until right this very moment,” Marty Marion, Schoendienst’s onetime double-play partner, said in July 1989. “You sure couldn’t tell, could you?”[6]

Schoendienst didn’t show any ill effects when he and two friends hitchhiked on a milk truck to a Cardinals tryout (Joe Garagiola and Yogi Berra attended the same tryout).[7] Schoendienst thrived in the minors, batting .373 in Double-A Rochester before the Cardinals called him up in 1945. Though he was primarily a shortstop in the minors, Schoendienst played left field during his rookie season, filling the spot vacated by Musial, who was serving in the Navy.

As Schoendienst was making his first appearance with the Cardinals, Caray was making his debut as a Cardinals broadcaster.

“(Schoendienst) was playing left field, and he came running in for a wicked line drive that he caught right at his knees,” Caray recalled. “Then he nonchalantly returned the ball to the infield. That’s the way he was – a great player and a winner. No hollering. No fake stuff. Going into the Hall of Fame had to happen.”[8]

In 1946, with players like Musial back from the war, Schoendienst filled a variety of roles before finding his home at second base. He opened the year at third base as Whitey Kurowski held out, then moved to shortstop to fill in for the injured Marion. When Lou Klein jumped to the Mexican League, Schoendienst became the second baseman on a World Series champion Cardinals team.

“I was pretty fortunate coming up when I did,” he said. “You had Musial, you had Slaughter, you had Terry Moore, you had Marion, Kurowski, all your good pitchers. They had been through it, the pennant and the World Series in ’42 and those other years. It was kind of a break for me to come up with guys who had been through all that, and to play with Marty Marion, who was a great shortstop.”[9]

Schoendienst earned the first of 10 All-Star appearances in 1946, then ran off eight consecutive All-Star seasons from 1948 through 1955, including the 1950 contest in which he called his shot and hit the game-winning home run in the 14^th inning. In Schoendienst’s best season, 1953, he hit .342 with 15 homers and 79 RBIs, finishing two points behind Brooklyn’s Carl Furillo for the batting title.

In 1956, Cardinals general manager Frank “Trader” Lane dealt Schoendienst to the New York Giants.

“The rest of us got the word that Red had been traded just as we were boarding a train out of St. Louis for an eastern trip,” Musial wrote in the forward to Schoendienst’s autobiography. “It was the saddest day of my career. I slammed the door to my train berth shut and didn’t open it for a long time.”[10]

One year later, the Giants traded Schoendienst to the Milwaukee Braves, where he won the second World Series of his career in 1957.

“When he joined my ball team, I introduced myself right away,” Braves shortstop Johnny Logan said. “I told him, ‘You take care of second base, and I’ll take care of shortstop, and we’ll win it all.’ I had played with 15 or 20 second basemen and always worried about who was playing there. I didn’t worry with Red.”[11]

In 93 games with the Braves that season, Schoendienst hit .310 with 23 doubles, six homers, and 32 RBIs. In the five-game World Series against the Yankees, he hit .278 with a double and two RBIs.

“He was the sparkplug,” Logan said. “We had a good ball team, but the only thing we needed was a second baseman. Once we got Red, he gave us the confidence we didn’t have before.”[12]

Schoendienst’s batting average fell to .262 in 1958, but in the World Series rematch against the Yankees, he hit .300 with three doubles, a triple, and five runs scored. When the season was over, he was diagnosed with tuberculosis. The life-threatening ailment required surgery followed by four months of bed rest.

“When they decided to operate on him, they had to get him up to build up his strength,” his wife, Mary Schoendienst, said. “The first day they got him up after he was on the flat of his back for four months, I went down there, and the bat company had sent him some bats, and they were over in the corner. When the nurses got him out of bed once again, I thought he would come over and shake my hand or do something, but he went over to the corner and picked up a bat. From that moment on, I figured this guy was going to play ball again. He was going to play that ball, and to heck with me and the rest of the world.”[13]

After missing all but five games in 1959, Schoendienst went on to play three more seasons – one with the Braves and two back in St. Louis as a player-coach. He retired with 2,449 hits and a .289 career batting average across 19 major league seasons.

“Despite the bug in his chest that wore him down every season, Red hit over .300 seven times,” longtime St. Louis Post-Dispatch sports editor Bob Broeg wrote. “If he hadn’t been fighting a tubercular infection, take Dr. Broeg’s word for it, that lifetime .289 average would have been .310 to .315.”[14]

Defensively, Schoendienst led National League second basemen in fielding percentage seven times, including a .993 fielding percentage in 1956 that set a record. He retired with a .983 fielding percentage.

“Besides Jackie Robinson, for 10 or 15 years there, Red was the best second baseman in the league,” Musial said.[15]

“Red wasn’t a guy that made a lot of news,” Marion said. “He wasn’t flashy, not like a guy like Ozzie Smith, diving all over the place. Red was just always in the right place at the right time. He didn’t make many mistakes.”[16]

With his playing career over, Schoendienst immediately moved into the coaching ranks. He was on Johnny Keane’s coaching staff for the 1964 world champion Cardinals, then was named the new manager when Keane left to become the Yankees’ manager.

Schoendienst managed the club from 1965 through 1976, winning the World Series in 1967 and the National League pennant in 1968. Including his stints as interim manager in 1980 and 1990, Schoendienst went 1,044-955 as the Cardinals’ manager, good for a .522 winning percentage. Two years after his 12-year run as manager ended, he returned to St. Louis as a coach.

By the time the Veterans Committee named him to the Hall of Fame, the 66-year-old Schoendienst was in his 48^th season in professional baseball.

“I think he has lasted so long because of his love affair with baseball,” Warren Spahn said. “There’s not a heck of a lot Red hasn’t done in the game.”[17]

At his induction ceremony that July, Schoendienst compared his life to a baseball diamond. He referred to his childhood in Germantown, Illinois, as first base.

“I never thought that milk truck ride would eventually lead to Cooperstown and baseball’s highest honor,” he said.[18]

Second base, he said, was making the major leagues. Third base was meeting his wife, Mary.

“She asked for my autograph,” he said, “and two years later I signed her up.”[19]

For Schoendienst, the Hall of Fame represented the final stage of his baseball journey.

“Baseball has been my only job,” he said. “I still get a thrill putting on that uniform and to hear those wonderful words, ‘Play ball.’ Baseball has given me recognition throughout the world, and now it is rewarding me with this, its greatest honor, of being inducted into the Hall of Fame. I guess I’ve crossed home.”[20]

Enjoy this post? Then you’ll love The Trades That Made The St. Louis Cardinals, available now on Amazon!

[1] Mike Eisenbath, “Red Schoendienst Makes It To Home,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 24, 1989.

[2] Rick Hummel, “Fame Calls On Cardinals’ Schoendienst,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 1, 1989.

[3] Veterans Panel Picks Schoendienst For Hall,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 1, 1989.

[4] Red Schoendienst with Rob Rains (1998), “Red: A Baseball Life,” Sports Publishing, Champaign, Ill., 16.

[5] Red Schoendienst with Rob Rains (1998), “Red: A Baseball Life,” Sports Publishing, Champaign, Ill., 16.

[6] Mike Eisenbath, “Hall of Famer,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 23, 1989.

[7] Red Schoendienst with Rob Rains (1998), “Red: A Baseball Life,” Sports Publishing, Champaign, Ill., 20.

[8] Rick Hummel, “More Disturbances By Strawberry Are Likely,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 5, 1989.

[9] Mike Eisenbath, “Hall of Famer,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 23, 1989.

[10] Red Schoendienst with Rob Rains, “Red: A Baseball Life,” Sports Publishing, Champaign, Ill., 1998, Page VII.

[11] Mike Eisenbath, “Hall of Famer,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 23, 1989.

[12] Mike Eisenbath, “Hall of Famer,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 23, 1989.

[13] Rick Hummel, “Fame Calls On Cardinals’ Schoendienst,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 1, 1989.

[14] Bob Broeg, “‘Natural’ Made Trek From Cowfield to Cooperstown,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 2, 1989.

[15] Mike Eisenbath, “Hall of Famer,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 23, 1989.

[16] Mike Eisenbath, “Hall of Famer,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 23, 1989.

[17] Mike Eisenbath, “Hall of Famer,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 23, 1989.

[18] Mike Eisenbath, “Red Schoendienst Makes It To Home,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 24, 1989.

[19] Mike Eisenbath, “Red Schoendienst Makes It To Home,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 24, 1989.

[20] Mike Eisenbath, “Red Schoendienst Makes It To Home,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 24, 1989.

The post How Red Schoendienst was elected to the Hall of Fame first appeared on STLRedbirds.com.

“Mrs. Nixon and I join sports fans everywhere in mourning the loss of this legendary figure,” President Richard Nixon said.^[1]

Dean cemented his place in Cardinals lore in 1934, when he led the Gashouse Gang to the World Series championship. Dean won the National League Most Valuable Player Award after he led the league with 30 wins – including seven shutouts – and struck out a league-high 195 batters. Pitching in nine games over a 19-day stretch in the heat of the pennant race, Dean finished the season with 311 2/3 innings and a 2.66 ERA.

He led the league with 28 wins the following season, pitching 325 1/3 innings as he threw 29 complete games. His 190 strikeouts marked the fourth consecutive year that he led the National League in strikeouts.

Given his incredible workload – which included at least 286 innings in five consecutive seasons, plus a variety of exhibition performances throughout each season to supplement the Cardinals’ revenue – Dean’s arm troubles in the late ’30s come as no surprise. Just before the 1938 season, the Cardinals traded him to the Chicago Cubs, where he battled through injuries until 1941, when he pitched a single inning before retiring.

Dean returned for a single start in 1947 when, as a radio broadcaster for the St. Louis Browns, he told the audience that he could pitch better than the Browns’ hurlers. Backing up his words, Dean pitched four scoreless innings in a Sept. 28 game against the White Sox.

In 1953, Dean was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. That year, he began announcing the nationally televised Game of the Week alongside Buddy Blattner and Pee Wee Reese. Though Reese later denied that Dean ever said such a thing, legend holds that Dean once observed a young couple among the spectators.

“Look-a-there, Pee Wee,” he said over the air. “Those young folks are smooching after every pitch. He’s kissing her on the strikes, and she’s kissing him on the balls.”[2]

Dean’s colorful mangling of the English language, including using the term “slud” instead of “slid,” endeared him to audiences, including those who were too young to have seen him pitch in the ’30s. He continued to broadcast games for CBS through 1965 and Braves games from 1966 through 1968, giving him an opportunity to see Gibson’s emergence as the Cardinals’ next legendary pitcher. As Dean remarked, Gibson knew just the right pitch to throw “99 times out of 10.”[3]

Indeed, as Gibson took the mound in pursuit of his 3,000^th strikeout, he had long since earned his own recognition in the Hall of Fame. He entered the game with 2,999 strikeouts, one shy of becoming the first National League pitcher and just the second player in major league history to reach 3,000, joining Walter Johnson.

Earlier that day, Tony Perez had announced Geronimo as the favorite to be Gibson’s 3,000^th strikeout victim as he set odds for players in the lineup. Six years later, Geronimo also was at the plate for Nolan Ryan’s 3,000^th strikeout.

“Pete Rose is 20-to-1, Joe Morgan is 30-to-1,” he said. “Johnny Bench is 3-to-2, but only because he may bunt.”

“What if I say I’m not bunting?” Bench asked.

“Then you are 1-to-3,” Perez answered with a laugh. “Me, I’m even money if it gets to me. I (have) been helping Gibson for 10 years. Why not do it now? I mean, I always look for the fastball, right here. It never comes. Just that hard slider, hard slider.”[4]

The first time through the lineup, the Reds played spoiler to Gibson’s milestone. In the first inning, Morgan singled and stole second, scoring on a single by Bench. In the second, Dan Driessen reached on an error by Ted Simmons at first base and scored on a ground ball by Ken Griffey. Finally, with runners on first and second and two outs, Gibson struck out Geronimo on a fastball above the strike zone to end the inning.

As the Busch Stadium II crowd of 28,743 cheered Gibson’s 3,000^th career strikeout, he uncharacteristically tipped his cap to the fans.

“I wanted the fans to know that I appreciated that they appreciated my efforts,” he said the following day.[5]

Joe Torre hit a three-run homer, and Reggie Smith added a solo shot to give Gibson and the Cardinals a 4-2 lead. In the fourth inning, Lou Brock lost track of a Driessen fly ball, allowing it to drop for a double. Griffey smacked a double into right field to cut the St. Louis lead to 4-3.

Gibson maintained that lead until the sixth. With two outs, Dave Concepcion singled, Griffey walked, and pinch hitter Terry Crowley, who was batting just .160 on the season, singled into center to tie the game.

In the seventh, manager Red Schoendienst pulled Gibson for a pinch-hitter. Gibson finished the day with four strikeouts, giving him 3,003 for his career.

“I thought he was getting a little tired,” Schoendienst said. “He was also leading off the inning, and I thought we might get a run.”[6]

Both bullpens continued to put zeros on the scoreboard until the 12^th inning, when Cardinals reliever Rich Folkers walked Darrell Chaney and allowed a single to Concepcion. Schoendienst called on Orlando Pena to end the threat, but George Foster greeted him with a double to left field to score Chaney and Concepcion.

In the ninth, St. Louis second baseman Jerry DaVanon reached on an error, and pinch-hitter Ken Reitz singled. After Pedro Borbon uncorked a wild pitch, Reds manager Sparky Anderson called for him to intentionally walk Brock and pitch to infielder Mike Tyson.

The strategy worked. Tyson popped out to Morgan at second base to end the game.

“I wouldn’t have slept if we didn’t walk Lou Brock and he beat us,” Anderson said. “He’s beaten our club a lot in the last few years, at least three times with home runs. If Mike Tyson had beaten us, I would have slept.”[7]

“That’s the kind of game that makes you lose your hair and get ulcers,” Bench said. “Imagine, two out in the ninth, then an error and a hit. I thought, ‘Here we go again.’”[8]

Never inclined to discuss personal accomplishments following a loss, Gibson had already left by the time reporters reached the clubhouse after the game.

The 38-year-old Gibson finished the 1974 season with an 11-13 record and 3.83 ERA over 240 innings. He retired following the 1975 campaign with 251 career victories, a 2.91 ERA, and 3,117 strikeouts, concluding a career that included two World Series titles, two World Series MVP awards, two Cy Young awards, nine Gold Glove Awards, an ERA title, and nine All-Star Game appearances. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981.

Give the gift of Cardinals history! The Trades That Made The St. Louis Cardinals is available now on Amazon.

[1] “Dizzy Returns To South,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 18, 1974.

[2] John Heidenry (2007), The Gashouse Gang, PublicAffairs: Page 289.

[3] John Heidenry (2007), The Gashouse Gang, PublicAffairs: Page 292.

[4] Bob Hertzel, “Gibson Gets 3000^th Strikeout, Reds Get Hits,” Cincinnati Enquirer, July 18, 1974.

[5] Jack Herman, “Fans’ Applause Earns Tip of Gibson’s Cap,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, July 19, 1974.

[6] Associated Press, “Reds Spoil Gibson’s March Into History,” Mexico Ledger, July 18, 1974.

[7] Neal Russo, “Cincy Book A Sleeper,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 18, 1974.

[8] Neal Russo, “Gibby Is Still Gibby,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 18, 1974.

The post Bob Gibson gets 3,000th strikeout, Dizzy Dean passes away first appeared on STLRedbirds.com.

After hitting an eighth-inning triple to move within a single of the cycle, Torre asked Schoendienst to remove him from the game. Sensing that Torre – slated to bat fifth in the ninth inning – still had an opportunity at history, Schoendienst kept his first baseman in the lineup.

“I told him he might get another shot,” Schoendienst said. “I told him to stay in there.”[1]

It proved to be the right decision.

“You have to give Red an assist,” Torre said. “I’m glad he ignored me this time.”[2]

Torre’s cycle paced a 22-hit offensive attack in the Cardinals’ 15-4 victory over the defending National League champion Pirates at Three Rivers Stadium.

The first Pittsburgh pitcher to fall victim to the St. Louis bats was 30-year-old left-hander Jim Rooker, who was making his first start of the season after thriving in a relief role. Rooker went on to win 10 games that season, the first of five consecutive campaigns with double-digit win totals. This game, however, would not count toward the win column.

The first four Cardinals batters each pounded hits as Lou Brock and Ted Sizemore singled, Torre hit an RBI double off the wall, and Ted Simmons followed with a two-run double to give St. Louis a 3-0 lead.

Willie Stargell hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the first off Cardinals starting pitcher Reggie Cleveland to cut the lead to 3-1, but the Cardinals broke the game open in the third as Torre and Simmons each hit solo home runs. After Ken Reitz singled and Bill Stein doubled, the Pirates inserted another left-hander, Luke Walker.

Walker didn’t fare any better. Jose Cruz and Mike Tyson greeted him with consecutive RBI singles. Another run scored on a Pirates error, and Tyson scored on a wild pitch before the inning ended with the Cardinals ahead 9-1.

With a double and a home run under his belt, Torre opened the fourth inning with a triple off Pittsburgh right-hander Bob Johnson. Batting next, Simmons drove Torre home with a sacrifice fly to right field.

“I didn’t think I’d ever hit for the cycle because I’m not a triples hitter,” Torre said.[3]

Brock added an RBI single in the seventh before Torre came up again in the eighth. Facing Steve Blass, Torre walked on five pitches, and it looked as though he might fall short in his bid for the cycle.

However, after Blass retired the first two batters he faced in the ninth, he walked Cleveland and Bernie Carbo to bring Torre to the plate. On a 3-1 pitch, Torre rose to the occasion with a single up the middle to score Carbo and complete the cycle. He clapped his hands in celebration on his way to first base.[4]

“I was pressing like crazy for the single,” he said.[5]

Simmons followed with an RBI double, and Reitz added a two-run single to make the final score 15-4.

In addition to Torre’s four hits, three RBIs, and four runs scored, Reitz finished the day with four hits and two RBIs. Simmons went 3-for-4 with two doubles and five RBIs, and Brock and Cruz each had three hits. Every player in the starting lineup had a hit, and the Cardinals finished with nine extra-base hits – six doubles, Torre’s triple, and two home runs.

“The trick tonight was figuring out who hit the game-winning RBI,” said Tim McCarver, who sat while Simmons handled the catching duties. “That’d take a mathematician, wouldn’t it?”[6]

With the loss, the last-place Pirates fell to 31-39 on the season.

“If it has been unfair before now to refer to Pirate pitching as a travesty, the ban is henceforth lifted,” Jeff Samuels wrote in The Pittsburgh Press.[7]

“Do I have any ideas how to straighten things out?” Pirates manager Bill Virdon asked in response to a reporter’s question. “I don’t know what the hell they would be. What do you do with pitching like this? You just keep running ’em out there.”[8]

Cleveland pitched all nine innings for the Cardinals, allowing four earned runs on seven hits and two walks. He struck out five.

Torre was named to his ninth and final All-Star Game that summer and finished the year with a .287 batting average, 13 homers, and 69 RBIs. Following the 1974 season, the Brooklyn native was traded to the Mets for Tommy Moore and Ray Sadecki and played his final three seasons in New York. Torre retired with a career .297 batting average, totaling 252 home runs, 996 runs scored, and 1,185 RBIs before embarking on a managerial career that brought him back to St. Louis from 1990 until 1995.

Give the gift of Cardinals history! The Trades That Made The St. Louis Cardinals is available now on Amazon!

[1] Jeff Samuels, “Bucs Lambasted, 15-4,” The Pittsburgh Press, June 28, 1973.

[2] Neal Russo, “Torre’s Cycle Powers Cards,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 28, 1973.

[3] Neal Russo, “Torre’s Cycle Powers Cards,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 28, 1973.

[4] Jeff Samuels, “Bucs Lambasted, 15-4,” The Pittsburgh Press, June 28, 1973.

[5] Neal Russo, “Torre’s Cycle Powers Cards,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 28, 1973.

[6] Charley Feeney, “Cards Stagger Limp Bucs, 15-4,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 28, 1973.

[7] Jeff Samuels, “Bucs Lambasted, 15-4,” The Pittsburgh Press, June 28, 1973.

[8] Jeff Samuels, “Bucs Lambasted, 15-4,” The Pittsburgh Press, June 28, 1973.

The post Joe Torre hits for the cycle: June 27, 1973 first appeared on STLRedbirds.com.

The previous winter, Devine inquired with Cubs general manager John Holland about Brock’s availability but was rebuffed. However, with the June 15 trading deadline looming, Devine called again, this time from Dodger Stadium, where the slumping Cardinals were suffering a three-game sweep. This time, Holland was amenable.

“When I called John Holland this time, he said, ‘If you’re still interested, we might have to move Brock,’” Devine recalled in 2012. “I said, ‘For what?’ He said, ‘We need a pitcher. You gave me a list of players when we talked before, and we’ll take a pitcher off that list. We’ll take Broglio.’”[1]

A 28-year-old right-hander, Broglio was in the sixth season of a productive major league career. In 1961, he led the National League with 21 wins, posting a 2.74 ERA to place third in the Cy Young Award voting. Just one year earlier, he won 18 games with a 2.99 ERA while pitching 250 innings.

So far in 1964, he was 3-5 with a 3.50 ERA in 11 starts. After the trade was made, the Chicago Tribune reported that Broglio had been unhappy in St. Louis.[2]

Meanwhile, Brock was in his third full season in the majors, and while his speed and power at the plate hinted at untapped potential, he had yet to develop the consistency the Cubs were looking for. He hit .263 with nine homers, 35 RBIs, and 16 stolen bases during his rookie year and followed that with a .258 average, nine homers, 37 RBIs, and 24 stolen bases in 1963.

At the time of the trade, he was hitting .251 with two homers, 14 RBIs, and 10 stolen bases.

On the team flight to Houston, Devine discussed the trade with manager Johnny Keane. Later, he would say that Keane’s support for Brock was the primary reason he made the trade.[3]

“He said, ‘What are we waiting for?’” Devine said. “Remember, there were no cell phones then. I told him, ‘I’ll call as soon as we land and I can get to a pay phone.’”[4]

Red Schoendienst remembered the discussion continuing in Houston. Devine and Keane called him into an office and asked for his opinion on Brock.

“I said, ‘I really haven’t seen him that much. He’s strong, the way he looks. I’ve watched him in batting practice, and he hits the ball hard. He’s got a good arm, but I don’t know how accurate it is, and you know he can run,’” Schoendienst later wrote.[5]

The conversation continued to Brock’s defense, which, to that point in his career, had been a question mark.

“I said, ‘Listen, he’s playing in Chicago,’” Schoendienst recalled. “‘When I broke in in the ’40s, Bill Nicholson was supposed to be a real good outfielder, and he had trouble at Wrigley. Right field is so hard to play there with that sun and that wind.’”[6]

At midday on June 15, the Cardinals and Cubs announced the six-player trade.

“We need outfield help and some hitting,” Keane said. “Brock adds youth, great running speed, and is an improving ballplayer.”[7]

Devine, who had often told the media that a team could never have too much pitching, admitted that trading Broglio was a risk.

“Fortunately, in the past, whenever we’ve given up a starting pitcher, we’ve come up with someone who helped us,” he said.[8]

In Chicago, Cubs manager Bob Kennedy was delighted by the trade.

“This gives us as good a pitching staff as there is in the league,” he said.[9]

The acquisition of Shantz also gave the Cubs a left-hander in the bullpen.

“We hate to lose Brock, and we think they’re getting a mighty good ballplayer, but when you get a chance to fortify yourself in two places, you’ve got to go for it,” Kennedy said. “Brock was the man they wanted, and we felt we ought to go with pitching. We think that’s about 90% of the game, so it’s a little bit of a gamble for both of us.”[10]

Brock had fallen out of favor with Kennedy for miscues in the field and on the basepaths, and for his struggles against left-handed pitching, the Chicago Tribune reported.[11]

The early reviews were heavily in favor of the Cubs.

“Thank you, thank you, oh, you lovely St. Louis Cardinals,” Bob Smith infamously wrote in the June 16 edition of the Chicago Daily News. “Nice doing business with you. Please call again anytime.”[12]

In St. Louis, Post-Dispatch sportswriter Neal Russo wrote, “The first question raised by many is: Why didn’t the Cardinals get more than Brock, a flashy outfielder who could become a star, for Broglio, an 18-game winner last season and still regarded as a top pitcher?”[13]

Bob Gibson, who later said that he believed Brock deserved the 1967 World Series MVP Award instead of him,[14] wasn’t initially sold on the trade.

“I frankly didn’t care for it,” he wrote in 2015. “In Brock’s few years with the Cubs, I hadn’t found it difficult to get him out, even though he was a left-handed hitter. He seemed tentative, and looked the same in the outfield.”[15]

It didn’t take long for Brock to change minds in St. Louis and elsewhere. Through the remainder of the regular season, he hit .348 with 12 homers, 44 RBIs, and 33 stolen bases. With Brock providing a spark at the top of the lineup, St. Louis went 65-39 the remainder of the season to win the National League pennant by one game over the Reds and Phillies. In the World Series, Brock hit .300 with a home run and five RBIs to help the Cardinals defeat the Yankees in seven games.

In the 1967 World Series against Boston, he hit .414 with two doubles, a triple, a home run, and seven stolen bases. He was somehow even better in the 1968 World Series, batting .464 with three doubles, a triple, two home runs, five RBIs and seven stolen bases.

For his career, Brock hit .391 in the postseason with 14 stolen bases and a 1.079 OPS.

Eight times, Brock led the league in stolen bases, including 118 thefts in 1974. In August 1977, he broke Ty Cobb’s stolen base record, which was believed to be 892 at the time and was later changed to 897. Two years later, on August 13, 1979, Brock recorded his 3,000^th career hit. Following the season, he retired with a .293 career batting average, 3,023 hits, and 938 stolen bases. In 1985, he was a first-ballot Baseball Hall of Fame selection.

Spring pitched three innings for the Cardinals in 1964 and pitched for the Indians in 1965, his last year in the majors. Toth was immediately sent to the Cardinals’ Triple-A affiliate in Jacksonville and was purchased by the Yankees the following January. He continued to pitch in the minor leagues through the 1967 season before retiring.

Broglio never regained his form as one of the league’s top pitchers. Battling arm troubles, he went 7-19 with a 5.40 ERA in 59 games for the Cubs, including 33 starts.

“When I was traded, my right arm was not in fine tune,” he said. “My elbow was really bothering me, and pitching in so many day games was not my piece of cake. In my opinion, the hitters see pitches better than they do at night.”[16]

Clemens played two seasons in Chicago, batting .238 with six homers and 38 RBIs before playing the final three seasons of his career with the Phillies. The 38-year-old Shantz allowed seven earned runs in 11 1/3 innings for the Cubs before he was sold to the Phillies in August. He pitched 32 innings for Philadelphia that season to close his 16-year major league career.

Give the gift of Cardinals history! The Trades That Made The St. Louis Cardinals is available now on Amazon.

[1] Bing Devine (2012), The Memoirs of Bing Devine: Stealing Lou Brock and Other Winning Moves by a Master GM, Kindle Android version, Retrieved from Amazon.com, Location 88.

[2] Richard Dozer, “Cubs Trade Brock for Broglio,” Chicago Tribune, June 16, 1964.

[3] Bing Devine (2012), The Memoirs of Bing Devine: Stealing Lou Brock and Other Winning Moves by a Master GM, Kindle Android version, Retrieved from Amazon.com, Location 124.

[4] Bing Devine (2012), The Memoirs of Bing Devine: Stealing Lou Brock and Other Winning Moves by a Master GM, Kindle Android version, Retrieved from Amazon.com, Location 95.

[5] Bing Devine (2012), The Memoirs of Bing Devine: Stealing Lou Brock and Other Winning Moves by a Master GM, Kindle Android version, Retrieved from Amazon.com, Location 1712.

[6] Bing Devine (2012), The Memoirs of Bing Devine: Stealing Lou Brock and Other Winning Moves by a Master GM, Kindle Android version, Retrieved from Amazon.com, Location 1712.

[7] Neal Russo, “Cards Get Brock, Send Broglio to Cubs,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 15, 1964.

[8] Neal Russo, “Cards Get Brock, Send Broglio to Cubs,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 15, 1964.

[9] Richard Dozer, “Cubs Trade Brock for Broglio,” Chicago Tribune, June 16, 1964.

[10] Neal Russo, “Cards Get Brock, Send Broglio to Cubs,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 15, 1964.

[11] Richard Dozer, “Cubs Trade Brock for Broglio,” Chicago Tribune, June 16, 1964.

[12] Alex Coffey, “Lou Brock Traded To Cardinals,” Baseball Hall of Fame, https://baseballhall.org/discover-more/stories/inside-pitch/lou-brock-traded-to-cards, Accessed May 29, 2021.

[13] Neal Russo, “Brock Will Bat Second for Cardinals,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 16, 1964.

[14] Bob Gibson (2015), Pitch by Pitch: My View of One Unforgettable Game, Kindle Android Version, Retrieved from Amazon.com, Page 30.

[15] Bob Gibson (2015), Pitch by Pitch: My View of One Unforgettable Game, Kindle Android Version, Retrieved from Amazon.com, Page 30.

[16] Russell Lake, “Ernie Broglio,” Society for American Baseball Research Bio Project, https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/ernie-broglio/, Accessed May 29, 2021.

The post Cardinals trade Brock for Broglio: June 15, 1964 first appeared on STLRedbirds.com.

Moon entered the game batting .331 with five home runs and two stolen bases. He had taken the outfield job previously held by future Hall of Famer Enos Slaughter, who, not coincidentally, was traded to the Yankees the same day Moon found out that he had made the Cardinals roster out of spring training.

Though Cardinals fans, angered by the Slaughter trade, booed him when he stepped to the plate for his first at-bat, the rookie from Bay, Arkansas, didn’t waste any time winning them over, homering in his debut plate appearance. By late May, Moon had cemented his position at the top of the St. Louis lineup.

On May 25, the second day of a four-game series at Busch Stadium, Moon and his teammates faced Johnny Klippstein, a fifth-year right-hander who would go on to pitch 18 seasons in the majors. Klippstein walked Moon to open the game, and Moon took the opportunity to steal his first base of the day. Red Schoendienst brought Moon home with a run-scoring double, and Stan Musial followed with an RBI triple to give the Cardinals a 2-0 lead.

In the second inning, Moon didn’t get the chance to steal a base, but he did drive in a run with a single to center field. Two innings later, he reached on an error by Cubs second baseman Gene Baker and stole second base for the second time that day.

Down 3-0, the Cubs struck back in the fifth. St. Louis left-hander Harvey Haddix retired the first 12 batters he faced before Hank Sauer doubled to left field. Randy Jackson followed with an RBI double, and rookie shortstop Ernie Banks singled to cut the Cardinals’ lead to 3-2.

The Cubs required two pitchers to get through the bottom of the fifth. Jim Brosnan, in the game in relief of Klippstein, walked Ray Jablonski and Tom Alston before throwing a wild pitch. Both runners scored on a double by Rip Repulski, and Haddix helped his own cause with an RBI triple for his second hit of the day.

Moon singled to score Haddix, prompting the Cubs to replace Brosnan with Jim Willis. Moon greeted Willis by stealing second and third, then scoring on a wild pitch. Alex Grammas was hit by a pitch, then scored on Musial’s two-out double off the right-field screen[1] to give the Cardinals a 9-2 lead.

In the seventh, Moon had a chance to tie the single-game stolen base record, but grounded out in his final at-bat of the game. New York Giants infielder Dan McGann set the mark when he stole five bases in a game in 1904.

“I’ll take another crack at it one of these days,” Moon said.[2]

Cardinals manager Eddie Stanky had been informed by Cardinals public relations manager Jim Toomey about the record and was prepared to give Moon the steal sign had he reached base.

“I would have given Moon every chance to get that fifth steal,” Stanky said. “He’s a nervy youngster, and when he says he’ll have another go at it, I’m sure he will.”[3]

Chicago’s Bill Serna hit an RBI single in the seventh and former Cardinal Walker Cooper, the catcher whom Moon seemed intent on making miserable, added an RBI single in the ninth to make the final score 9-4.

Haddix improved to 6-3 on the season, allowing four earned runs on nine hits and a walk. He struck out nine.

“He pitched well, but he worked too much,” said Stanky, noting Haddix’s 5-foot-9, 170-pound stature. “He used 140 pitches; that’s too much wasted effort for a fellow of his physique. He’s rugged, but not gib enough to stand that kind of wear and tear.”[4]

Moon may have missed his chance at tying the stolen base record, but he continued to make history during his rookie campaign. Despite a bleeding ulcer that was diagnosed in September,[5] he finished the year with a .304 batting average, 12 homers, 76 RBIs, and 12 stolen bases to win the Rookie of the Year Award ahead of Banks and Milwaukee’s Henry Aaron.

Moon went on to play 12 seasons in St. Louis before he was traded to the Dodgers following the 1958 season. There, Vin Scully began referring to Moon’s home runs in the short left-field corner as “Moon Shots,” and he became a fan favorite. Over his 12-year career, he totaled 142 homers and 661 RBIs while participating in three All-Star Games.

Give the gift of Cardinals history! The Trades That Made The St. Louis Cardinals is available now on Amazon.

[1] Edward Prell, “Wild Hurling Helps Cards Triumph,” Chicago Tribune, May 26, 1954.

[2] Dent McSkimming, “Moon’s Four Stolen Bases Within One Of 50-Year-Old Record,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 26, 1954.

[3] Dent McSkimming, “Moon’s Four Stolen Bases Within One Of 50-Year-Old Record,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 26, 1954.

[4] Dent McSkimming, “Moon’s Four Stolen Bases Within One Of 50-Year-Old Record,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 26, 1954.

[5] Wally Moon with Tim Gregg (2010), Moon Shots: Reflections on a Baseball Life, San Antonio, Texas: Moon Publishing, Page 99.

The post Wally Moon steals four bases, nearly ties the NL record: May 25, 1954 first appeared on STLRedbirds.com.